Plant Vehicle Engineer

Slate Auto•Warsaw, IN

3d•$96,333 - $144,499•Onsite

About The Position

Slate is looking for a hands-on Plant Vehicle Engineer, Seat Complete & Restraints to support vehicle assembly, launch readiness, production quality, and continuous improvement for seat complete assemblies and restraint components installed in the vehicle. The scope includes seat manufacturing interfaces, seat assemblies, seat belts, air bags, occupant detection / occupant classification sensors, fasteners, brackets, electrical interfaces, and vehicle integration. This role serves as the engineering link between the manufacturing plant, Design & Release Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Quality, Suppliers, Production, Safety, Vehicle Integration, Service, and other cross-functional teams. The position focuses less on new component design and more on protecting product intent in the plant, resolving production issues, driving root cause analysis, and improving build quality in production. This role does not own production release of seat or restraint designs. It is responsible for identifying build and integration issues, supporting root cause analysis, protecting safety-critical requirements, and driving plant-side issue resolution in partnership with Design & Release Engineering and the broader manufacturing organization.

Requirements

5+ years of related automotive engineering, manufacturing engineering, launch, quality, plant vehicle engineering, or similar experience; Seat Complete, Restraints, Interiors, or safety systems experience preferred.
Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Industrial Engineering, or related technical field preferred; equivalent hands-on automotive launch, manufacturing, or product engineering experience will be considered.
Experience supporting vehicle development and launch, with an understanding of the product lifecycle from concept through production ramp and mass production.
Strong understanding of BOMs, engineering change control, manufacturability, assembly methods, process validation, quality metrics, design reviews, and cost-reduction methodologies.
Strong technical, interpersonal, and communication skills with the ability to foster collaboration and build effective cross-functional relationships.
Ability to read and interpret drawings, schematics, technical documents, specifications, and quality standards.
Experience with CATIA, SOLIDWORKS, AutoCAD, or similar engineering software/tools.
Experience with issue tracking, change management, quality systems, deviation/waiver processes, containment tracking, and production breakpoint control.
Ability to manage multiple projects, tasks, and assignments simultaneously in a fast-paced launch and manufacturing environment.
Demonstrated ability to lead technical discussions and deliver optimized solutions with a high level of attention to detail.
Hands-on experience supporting assembly lines and driving improvements in build quality, process stability, and production robustness.
Experience in structured problem-solving methodologies, such as Six Sigma, DFSS, Red X, 8D, 5-Why, fishbone analysis, or similar.
DFM and DFA experience.
Ability to work on the plant floor more than 50% of the time.
Flexibility to take on additional tasks and ownership of different functional areas, as needed.
Must be willing to relocate to Warsaw, Indiana.

Nice To Haves

Additional technical training preferred, such as Lean, 5S, Kaizen, SPC, Six Sigma, Green Belt, Red X, or similar structured problem-solving methods.

Responsibilities

Support the launch and ongoing production of Seat Complete and Restraints systems in a vehicle assembly plant environment.
Serve as a technical point of contact for plant issues related to seat assemblies, seat belts, air bags, sensors, fasteners, brackets, electrical connectors, and vehicle integration.
Help ensure manufacturing processes maintain product design intent, regulatory expectations, safety-critical requirements, and quality standards.
Maintain strong discipline around safety-critical characteristics, torque-to-spec requirements, traceability, escalation, containment, and no-build/no-ship decision support where appropriate.
Investigate, diagnose, and resolve production issues related to seat assembly, seat installation, restraint installation, fit/function, craftsmanship, electrical connections, torque requirements, and component interfaces.
Support issue resolution related to seat belt routing, buckle/latch fit, pretensioner connections, airbag electrical interfaces, occupant detection / occupant classification concerns, SRS connector integrity, diagnostic faults, and restraint component installation quality.
Lead or support root cause analysis, containment, corrective action development, and validation of permanent fixes.
Analyze production data, audit findings, repair trends, supplier concerns, and plant feedback to identify risks, trends, and improvement opportunities.
Partner with Design & Release Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Quality, Production, Suppliers, Safety, Vehicle Integration, and Service teams to resolve plant and vehicle-level concerns.
Communicate issue status, risks, corrective actions, containment plans, breakpoints, and support needs to affected teams and plant leadership.
Provide plant feedback into product and process decisions to improve manufacturability, serviceability, quality, and production robustness.
Support engineering change implementation, including build trials, breakpoint coordination, plant readiness, issue tracking, and communication to affected teams.
Support launch build phases from prototype and pilot through production ramp, including issue tracking, triage, containment, breakpoint management, and readiness reporting.
Support launch activities, including prototype builds, pilot builds, production trials, issue resolution, and readiness reviews.
Participate in Design for Manufacturing and Assembly reviews, PFMEA input, control plan reviews, and lessons learned.
Review and support production documentation, including work instructions, inspection standards, torque requirements, quality alerts, repair procedures, and related process documentation.
Support issue tracking, change management, quality systems, deviation / waiver processes, containment documentation, and production breakpoint control.
Support process improvements that reduce defects, improve first-time quality, minimize rework, and strengthen production consistency.
Drive continuous improvement actions that improve overall build quality and production robustness for Seat Complete and Restraints systems.